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2019 Mexico City eTrophy Race
2019 Mexico City E-Prix |pole = Katherine Legge |natp = GBR |pteam = Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |natpt = USA |ptime = 1:14.210 |fastdrive = Bryan Sellers |natfl = USA |flteamnat = USA |flteam = Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |fltime = 1:15.516 |lapno = 12 |winner = Katherine Legge |nat1 = GBR |nat2 = USA |sec = Bryan Sellers |nat3 = BRA |third = Sérgio Jimenez |wteam = Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |natt = USA |wtime = 26:17.430 |previous = 2018 Ad Diriyah eTrophy Race |next = 2019 Hong Kong eTrophy Race}} The 2019 Mexico City eTrophy Race, officially known as the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace Mexico City eTrophy Race, was the second round of the 2018/19 FIA Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, staged at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico, on the 16 February 2019.Alex Kalinauckas, 'Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy Formula E support 2018/19 calendar revealed', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 12/09/2018), https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/138649/jaguar-reveals-which-fe-races-etrophy-will-support, (Accessed 11/12/2018) The race, which ran in support of the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix, would see the eTrophy return to the Formula E support bill, having skipped the races in Marrakech and Santiago. Katherine Legge would claim her maiden pole position in the eTrophy during qualifying, ousting teammate Bryan Sellers by a quarter of a second. The second row would see guest driver Salvador Duran lineup alongside Championship leader Simon Evans, while PRO-Am pole would go to Bandar Alesayi. Legge duly aced her start to blast into the lead off the line, fending off a challenge from teammate Sellers into turn one.Jake Kilshaw, 'Legge Leads Lights-to-Flag in Mexico City', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media LLC., 16/02/2019), https://e-racing365.com/i-pace-etrophy/legge-leads-lights-to-flag-in-mexico-city/, (Accessed 17/02/2019) Duran, meanwhile, would beat Evans off the line, before Cacá Bueno elbowed his way past the Kiwi to claim third at turn three. Duran would be on maximum attack on the opening tour, even challenging second placed Sellers through the stadium section, although his move did not come off in front of his home crowd. That allowed Legge to escape up the road and establish a small lead over the rest of the field, with Sellers only managing to escape Duran's attentions after a FCY was thrown to remove debris from the opening lap. With that Legge and Sellers were able to pull away from the rest of the field, as collisions at the back removed Célia Martin and Qi Lin from contention. Duran, meanwhile, would see his race ended by a clumsy lunge from Bueno into the final chicane, with the Brazilian forcefully elbowing his way inside the Mexican, only for Duran to break his own steering while trying to scramble back inside Buenos mid-corner. That chaos would, ultimately, leave the two RLLRs on their own, with Legge able to run for the rest of the race unchallenged to claim her maiden eTrophy victory, and the lead in the Championship. Sellers was half a second away in second, while Jimenez fought back up to third as others around him hit trouble. The honours in PRO-Am, meanwhile, would go to Alesayi, with the Saudi racer also managing to pick his way through the order as accidents and collisions opened the door ahead of him. Background The inaugural Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy would link back up with the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Mexico City for its second round, using the same layout of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as FE. Indeed, there were no changes to the rules or entry list after the eTrophy's mixed debut in Ad Diriyah, with the wider layout of the Autódromo expected to aid the cars in overtaking, which had proved to be a big issue in Saudi Arabia. There were some minor changes to the field ahead of the visit to Mexico, with Salvador Duran, an ex-FE racer, getting a run out in the VIP car in place of Alice Powell. Indeed, the Mexican arrived in the eTrophy as the most experienced driver in the field in terms of his exploits with electric vehicles, having competed in 12 ePrix in 2014/15 and 2015/16. Elsewhere, TWR Techeetah revealed their new livery, inspired by the TWR run Jaguar XJR-9 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988.Sam Smith, 'TWR Techeetah Launches Retro Livery', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 11/02/2019), https://e-racing365.com/i-pace-etrophy/twr-techeetah-launches-retro-livery/, (Accessed 12/02/2019) Into the Championship and it was Simon Evans who, unsurprisingly, lead the PRO category after claiming victory at the opening round, holding a five point lead over Sérgio Jimenez. Bryan Sellers was next, completing the early top three, with Cacá Bueno, Katherine Legge and Stefan Rzadzinski completing the scorers. In the PRO-AM Championship it was Bandar Alesayi who had emerged with the lead at the opening round, leaving with a five point advantage over compatriot Ahmed Bin Khanen. The two Team China drivers Tao Wang and Yaqi Zhang were next, while Célia Martin completed the early quintet. Guest driver Alice Powell was not eligible for Championship points. Entry List The full entry list for the is displayed below: Practice FP1 FP2 Qualifying Qualifying for the eTrophy race was scheduled for mid-morning, held after the opening practice session for Formula E.Daniel Lloyd, 'Legge Takes Maiden Pole as RLL Locks Out Front Row', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 16/02/2019), https://e-racing365.com/i-pace-etrophy/legge-takes-maiden-pole-as-rll-locks-out-front-row/, (Accessed 16/02/2019) The entire twelve car field was to have thirty minutes on track to set their best time, with no divisions between the PRO and PRO-Am entries. Report Ultimately the session would be dominated by the two Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers Katherine Legge and Bryan Sellers. Indeed, both Legge and Sellers would spend time during the session on provisional pole, exchanging fastest laps in the high 1:14.000s for twenty minutes, before Legge jumped to a 1:14.210 with ten minutes to go. Sellers tried in vain to match his teammate in the first ever eTrophy qualifying session, eventually falling shy by 0.273s. Behind the two RLLRs it was Simon Evans who led the charge, ahead of guest driver, and ex-FE racer, Salvador Duran. Cacá Bueno was next, having made a last gasp effort to escape the mire of the PRO-Am field, with Stefan Rzadzinski claiming sixth. Sérgio Jimenez completed the PRO section, half a second off the ultimate pace, while Bandar Alesayi claimed pole in the PRO-Am class. Post Qualifying The final qualifying result for the are outlined below: * Positions with a green background are Pro entries. A white background indicates a Pro-Am entry. A black background indicates the Guest entry. Race Report Result The final classification of the is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold. Milestones * First Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy race to be staged in Mexico City. * Salvador Duran and Qi Lin made their eTrophy debuts. * Maiden eTrophy pole position for Katherine Legge. * Legge secured her maiden eTrophy victory. * Bryan Sellers recorded his first fastest lap. * Second PRO-AM victory for Bandar Alesayi. Standings Victory ensured that Katherine Legge headed the PRO Championship after the opening two rounds, although she only held a one-point advantage over the rest of the field. Indeed, no fewer than three drivers were within a point of the Brit, with Simon Evans, Sérgio Jimenez and Bryan Sellers all level on 26 points, although Evans was officially ahead courtesy of his victory in Ad Diriyah. It was a far simpler picture in the PRO-Am Championship for two victories in two had left Bandar Alesayi in command of the table, the Saudi racer leaving Mexico with an eleven point lead. His teammate Ahmed Bin Khanen was a secure second, with a huge gap back to Tao Wang and Qi Lin, who were tied for third on eleven points. Yaqi Zhang and Célia Martin, meanwhile, failed to score having retired during the race. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:ETrophy Races Category:2018/19 eTrophy Races